EU readies sanctions against Russia, urges Moscow to return to diplomacy

BRUSSELS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is set to adopt the first set of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday after Moscow recognized the independence of eastern Ukraine's Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

The EU member states' foreign ministers met in Paris on Tuesday for an extraordinary informal session to discuss the sanctions to be taken.

The package of sanctions put on the table by the European Commission and the European Council target individuals involved in Moscow's decision; banks financing Russian military and other operations in those territories; the ability of the Russian state and government to access the EU's capital and financial markets and services; and trade from the two breakaway regions to and from the EU.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said in a statement published on Tuesday that Russia's decision to recognize Lugansk and Donetsk as "independent" was "illegal and unacceptable."

"It violates international law, Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Russia's own international commitments and it further escalates the crisis," they said.

In another declaration issued on Tuesday on behalf of the EU, the bloc's chief diplomat Josep Borrell said Russia's action violated its commitment to work within the Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group in finding a peaceful settlement to this conflict, a commitment it has repeated on numerous occasions, including very recently.

Meanwhile, the EU's foreign ministers are still urging Russia to return to diplomacy to defuse the tensions.

"There's always an option for Russia and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to choose the path of diplomacy, of peaceful negotiations, of respect of international law, and refrain from threats and intrusion, and the actions that they did yesterday and today," Jeppe Kofod, Denmark's foreign minister, said ahead of the extraordinary meeting.

Borrell said in the declaration that the EU had urged Russia to return to the discussions within the Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group.

The Normandy Format, established in 2014, is a diplomatic group of senior representatives from Ukraine, Germany, Russia and France formed to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Also on Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Russia's decision is "a blatant violation of international law, the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements. Also, like every revisionary initiative, it undermines international stability and progress."

Greece has one more reason to be concerned and monitor the developments: the protection and support of the Greek expatriates in Ukraine and the large community in Mariupol, he said in a statement.

Russian President Putin on Monday signed two decrees recognizing the "Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)" and the "Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" as independent and sovereign states.

Putin said he was aware that the West was trying to "blackmail" Russia again with sanctions and that he believed that the sanctions will continue just because Russia exists, regardless of the situation in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Tuesday that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a suitable platform for diplomatic initiatives related to the Ukraine crisis.

Austria is working with the OSCE to resume dialogue on Ukraine, Nehammer said, adding that the OSCE is currently the institution most likely to bring relevant parties back to open talks in a well-established framework.

The OSCE has a special mission of monitors in Ukraine, whose role is to observe and report on the country's situation, and facilitate dialogue.